Thanksgiving came and went. Jesse and I had three of them to get through so it was pretty hectic. We were up till 4 in the morning the night before making enough food to be able to take to each. Doubling and tripling recipes gets crazy. There was also a lot of driving since we had one in sandy, downtown, and bountiful, not to mention they all pretty much started at the same time. Seriously, I cannot wait to have my own house and do my own Thanksgiving so I won't have to run everywhere else. There is always one aspect of the holiday that tends to linger too long, the need to eat a lot! And it's not hard at all with all of the leftovers just sitting around. It's not just the eating, it's the sitting around recovering from all of the eating that makes the whole entire weekend nonsense and completely unproductive. Jesse and I have honestly been sitting at home since Friday eating leftovers every hour and watching movies. Then there's the cold, gray weather that puts you in a gray mood where food is once again, your savior. It's a vicious cycle.

I made my first attempt at pie and it was fantastic! The process was long at 2 am but I felt like a kid again, playing with dough. Our results were better than I had hoped and I even managed a nice, rustic lattice top that I was pretty impressed with. Considering that I don't really like apple pie or pie in general, it was pretty good and people really liked it. There are definitely a few changes I will make to the recipe when I attempt to make pie a second time but for now, I'm pretty happy with my first pie experience. Next on the list is Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake with a Gingersnap crust that I've been putting a recipe together for. First attempt at cheesecake which happens to be mine and my mom's favorite dessert, so she'll definitely be loving it if I'm successful. Pics and post to come with that but for now, enjoy thanksgiving photos.

{apple pie before oven}


{apple pie after oven}


{pumpkin cupcakes before oven}


{pumpkin cupcakes after oven}


{jesse found these liners in fall colors that were perfect for thanksgiving}


{pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting & a glazed pecan}

autumn special edition

There have been many thoughts occupying my mind lately and many endeavors I've been attempting to undertake. I've taken the first steps into launching something big, which will make its appearance in months to come I hope. This autumn has proven to be quite an inspiring one as I've dug out my boxes bursting of old Vogue's and subscribed for new ones once again. Inspiration has also led to a frenzied whipping up of baked goods especially now that the holiday season is in full bloom. And birthdays seem to be happening about every other week. We just celebrated Jesse's 25th in a classic way and this time I have pictures to prove it. Since his day landed on a Tuesday this year, family came first and on Saturday we celebrated with friends. I made his favorite (although everything I make is his favorite of course!) Pumpkin Cake but opted to marble it with chocolate to add a little something nice, and finished with a classic cream cheese frosting. Three layered and delicious, it went along with an all natural Vegan Apple-Apricot Cake for Joshua that was perfectly Fall and surprisingly rich. I wanted something that would be special for my old man and inclusive for Joshua. On Saturday, though I'll never tire of Fall flavors, I made Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with both chocolate frosting and cream cheese frosting to go along with a black and white theme. They turned out so well with a slight almond-y flavor and smelled so amazing! Did I mention that along with all of this deliciousness, we went to Harry Potter twice? Yes we did! and we're taking today to recover before we take on Thanksgiving in t-minus 4 1/2 days...eeeeee!

Going to my recurring obsession with Vogue, I've, in the past weeks, taken to an obsession with finding my perfect red lipstick. Those who have tried, understand that it isn't as simple as it sounds, finding the perfect red. They're broken into yellow-orange toned reds, blue toned reds (which whiten your teeth), pink-toned reds, and the elusive true red that is hardly ever made anymore. The rule of thumb is picking a tone that is the opposite of your skin tone. So, I'm yellow toned and therefore, should look for a blue-toned/true red lipstick. Since I began my search I've purchased four different reds, three of them drugstore brands. I finally ended up buying the infamous Russian Red by MAC based on numerous reviews that have labeled it a red that looks good on everyone, and also because it was a blue toned red, I thought it'd be perfect. Well it definitely was. It's the perfect pin-up, statement red that is super flattering and classic. Now, I'm looking for a more muted and daytime-wear red so the search will continue. As a result, I've decided to do a Red Review every blog on red lipsticks (and probably other makeup products) that I am trying just for my own reminding and also as a guide for someone who's also interested in finding their own perfect red or whatever. I'll most likely start this in my next entry because I'm a sucker for organization so be excited for that.

I'm guessing everyone is excited for Thanksgiving and this year, I'm looking to contribute my usual offerings with something new that I've yet to attempt: Pie. Homemade Mac & Cheese, Pumpkin Cupcakes, and Apple Pie. I'm a little nervous because I want so badly to master pie-making (so classic and homey!) and especially since this first attempt is making its appearance during the grandest food holiday of the year..have to pull out all the stops. So that's coming up in the next few days and then before you know it, the semester is over and it'll be Christmas!

Enjoy the picss since they're ever so rare.

{pumpkin swirl cakes}


{frosted}


{vegan apple-apricot cake}


{glowing cakes}


{make a wish}


{dry mix & dark cocoa mix}


{dark chocolate..mm}


{onetwoThree sticks of butter}


{lots o sugar}


{ready to go}


{almost done}


{black & white cupcakes}


{close up}


{more!}


{everyone got a candle for luck}